2018 Rd 11: Post Game Pragmatism: Carlton vs Sydney

[PaulP]

One more thing - that jumper looked like stonewash denim. Awful.

[Gointocarlton]

Strange game. Watching it live, I thought the effort was there, we certainly cracked in but in the end we were too messy with the footy. They seemed much cleaner with the footy and in particular, marking overhead. The Heeney is a freak overhead for his size, as is Parker. Sinclair shaded Kruze by kicking a few goals. I wonder if 2 rucks could have worked Sinclair over more.
Agree with Pauly on Simmo, times up.
Liked the look of SOS’s new role, lets see how it goes.
At the end of the day, polish and experience got Syd over the line, thought our boys took it up to them though.
As for the Syd supporters, I have 3 words for you:
Learn the Rules
Oh well, ticked the box, been saying for years I wanted to go to the SCG to watch a game, mission accomplished.

[deags]

I wish we'd have had a decent crack at getting Heeney. Ive been a massive fan since his rookie year. Maybe he wasn't gettable, but I don't remember any scuttlebutt about any other interest and I reckon the swans would have resigned him for unders.

[laj]

Kerridge butchered the football at times and cost us plenty....when I read he went at 79% DE I couldnt believe it, he was horrendous by foot IMO...
No way would I re-sign him....

If they count every disposal in DE then that'd include the 2m handpasses where it's hard not to hit the target.

Pity he butchers the ball so much as he works so hard. Thought he was generally ok last night, keot Hannebury quiet, but unlike some, when he butchers the ball he really butchers it where it hurts. He does a good job but it's negated by his ball use.

I'd give him another contract on the basis of bodies being too skinny still.

[laj]

I can't really tell if Swans were genuinely trying and we matched them, or whether they were just in 1st gear most of the night and only pulled their finger out when they needed to. Either way, they won't be scaring any of the top teams based on last night's performance. Looked ordinary in my book.

Jones- I've never been a fan, but he was ok last night. Actually tried to mark a few. Progress.

Daisy - has been good this year, but stunk it up last night.

Dow - this kid is all class. Love him.

SPS - does some nice things, then disappears.

Plowman - has had an ordinary season. He's better than what he's showing this year. Last night's game and the previous week show signs of life.

Simpson - if ever there was a textbook example of how a player can besmirch their own fine reputation by playing past their use by date, this is it. He stunk it up bad last night. His claims to fame have always been courage, guts and determination, and when he was younger also a bit of pace. He's never been skilful, and now that he's older and slower, it's really starting to show. A plea from your No1 fan - please give it up now. And when you play so badly, you have no business slagging off your team mates.

Wright - the TV is useful for showing work close to the ball, and in this respect we see just how smart Wright is. Smart tap ons, keeps his feet, good decisions etc. It's a shame about that miss on goal, but he's a very good footballer, and I love him.

I thought Sinclair had the better of Krooz.

Jack was not bad.

O'Shea, another in the burgeoning category of honest triers, ordinary players.

I can only assume the mattress (as Brettie referred to it) around Cripps' leg was for napping purposes - he, like us, probably anticipated another night he wishes he could just dream away. 

There was a handful of neat passages of play, in amongst a whole bunch of trash. Our skills are deplorable. Bolton came from a club where players had brilliant kicking skills. We're waiting Brendan.

Simmo got votes on the ABC last night. I thought his errors were eye watering early on but that got much better after the 1st qtr.

[DJC]

OBrien had a moment where he didnt want to attack the ball and Cameron Ling highlighted his lack of effort and I reckon the coaches will be pointing that out this week.
A lot of players have that moment but its the good ones that learn from it so we will see how Obrien goes in the future...

I gave O’Brien the benefit of the doubt.  If he had continued he would have been knocked out of the contest.  By hesitating, he remained involved in the contest.  Perhaps I’m being too generous but I guess we’ll learn more as his career progresses.

[deags]

I thought Simmo's defensive work was reasonable, however his disposal was eyewateringly atrocious, even for him. And he really needs a new string to his bow bringing the ball in from a behind, that little fake to one side, kick to self and get the chopout from a team mate is very predictable. Caught once last night, and I don't know how he gets away with it as often as he does.

[Jack Burton]

I thought Simpson was OK, but not great. Thomas was worse, panic turnovers cost goals several times

[crashlander]

With the bye this week we get a chance to regroup and get some players back. That is a huge positive.
All I can say is that we are not that bad, but our turnovers kill us.

[IvanAwfulbigone]

Did anyone else think that last goal shouldn’t have counted? You can’t kick around your body without stepping off the line. Oh well.
Would have been interesting if it was the last kick to win a GF.

Have been convinced to stick with Bolts for now, swayed largely by some cool heads on this forum who have reminded us about where we’ve come from and where we’re headed (fingers crossed). As much as the commentators on FTA TV are dills, they were right about our game plan. Chipping it around and playing keepings off is all very well and good but ... then what? There doesn’t seem to be any “then what”. Casboult’s not the answer and we can’t expect Charlie to be 100% available. I wish BB would let them off the leash a bit more. We look so much better moving it on quicker and kicking it long.

As others have said, skills are just diabolical. Actually unbelievably bad considering we’re supposed to be watching men who’ve been playing football their whole lives and who make a decent living from it. Ugh. And when we make those howlers, what’s with BB’s habit of covering his mouth and letting loose with what I assume is language that would make a sailor blush? Reminds me of Alan Joyce and his handkerchief when he was at Hawthorn. And that worries me!

Last night I think I saw another reason why some teams can’t seem to get up off the mat and others don’t need to rebuild. We have only one genuine superstar on our list. Other teams can simply use their middle tier players as cannon fodder and instruct them to forget about winning the footy and stop Cripps at all costs. They tag team him and, in the end, break him. Career is cut short and the club never really reaps the benefit of having said superstar on the park long enough around which to build a dynasty. Struggling club goes back to the drawing board to find the next big thing while the successful clubs don’t need to - it’s death by a thousand cuts for Carlton.